


Thantophobia

by heyimsubs



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: #BANHOMEWORK, Academia, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Character Death, Classical Music, DNF, Dark Magic, Death, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, I hate it here, Kings & Queens, M/M, Magic, Minecraft, Near Death Experiences, Pain, Princes & Princesses, Strangers to Lovers, War, dreamnotfound, give kudos, i have no clout lol, inspired by myself because i'm a genius and original, writing this cause i'm bored
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28748124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyimsubs/pseuds/heyimsubs
Summary: //not really spoilers but kindaPrince George's coronation day is finally here, although something doesn't seem right.Before the ceremony, he runs away from his duties.He soon meets another young man who helps George learn regular human deeds.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. run

George didn’t move that morning. His bed was large and very high above off the ground. After debating with himself whether to get up and start the day or not, he finally rose out of his light brown sheets and stretched his arms. George looked out the only window in his room. The window was large, it had dust on the brim with a fancy pattern across the glass. The sun shone through the patterned window creating an illusion on the floor. George's head was filled with thoughts, worry, and his father.

The war between Iridestia and Abolia has been going on for about a year now. There had been very few battles, but these small battles did a number on the people of Iridestia, physically and mentally. George was 17 at the time his father passed. They needed a new king, although George was underage. There was no king in the land of Iridestia for a long period of time, but today, there finally will be one. Today is George's 18th birthday, his coronation day. Normally he would be excited for his birthday, but the fact he would be crowned king, put pressure and stress on George. He didn't want to be king, he never did.

"Prince George," an older woman opened the large door to his quarters, "Good heavens George, why aren't you dressed yet?" George sighed and looked away into the mirror above his vanity. The mirror was the same shape as his window. He brushed his hand through his poofed-up curls until they lowered on his head. 

"Prince George," the woman repeated, opening George's door slightly wider. "Everybody is going to be waiting for you." 

"Sorry, Elizabeth, I'll be down there by 8, I swear!" he replied, walking towards his door to close it. He went to his dresser and pulled out a fancy, long sleeve top, and pants. They were gold and red, although they looked gold and brown to George. He is colorblind, the only actual colors he could see were brown, yellow, blue, and black.

After changing, he slipped on some nice, platform shoes and headed downstairs. The stairs in the castle were large and curved. They were concrete with glass tiles that made a clink sound as George stepped down them. The halls in the castle were also concrete, with wallpaper and paintings of kings, queens, and other old members of the royal family. There was one with George's father and mother. George only saw them in these paintings, and his memories. He longed to see them in real life through his eyes again. Wanted to be held by his mother while she comforted him. He would give anything for his mom to sing him his favorite lullaby again. He brushed these thoughts away as quickly as they came, and he approached the dining hall doors. The doors to the dining hall were very large and had symmetrical engravings from top to bottom. There were two guards at the front of the dining hall that pulled the heavy doors open as George approached.

In the middle of the dining hall, was a long wooden table with elegant chairs surrounding it. George often ate alone at the table every time he had a meal. Occasionally, servants and other workers of the castle would ask to join him, and he would always say yes. He never had anyone to really talk to or have an actual conversation, he couldn't talk about his feelings. To George's surprise, today, almost all the chairs at the table were filled. Other relatives and close friends of the "royal family" filled up the seats, conversing amongst each other. 

_I should be happy I have people here, in the castle for once. I should be excited to finally be crowned king._ _Why am I so_ _miserable_ _?_

"Prince George!" the older woman from before raised her voice. She was sitting in one of the far seats at the table. After she announced his name, everyone in the dining hall rose to their feet, clapping, bowing, and cheering. George put on a nervous smile and walked slowly to the largest chair at the end of the table. After George took his seat, everyone else followed suit. The kitchen workers began to bring in tons of breakfast food. Pastries, bread, pancakes, toast, eggs, and more. There was plenty for everyone, although no one touched their food. George remembered what his father always did at large gatherings. George looked up to meet the eyes of everyone staring at him.

"For Iridestia!" he exclaimed, his cheeks slowly starting to flush hoping he did the right thing. "For Iridescentia!" everyone repeated in unison. They all began to dig into their food, except for George. George looked around the room and observed everyone. They were all dressed up nicely, the woman in gowns, and the males in dashing outfits similar to George's. He wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for, but he saw a few familiar faces. 

_There's my fathers old friend._ He thought to himself.

_And the woman my mother used to play piano with, and her daughter._

_My parents' old tailor, and their friends they used to invite over for dinner and games._

George had more feelings rush back to him, he felt nostalgic.

 _I didn't want this._ His hands began to slightly shake.

_It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I need them back. I can't take the crown. I can't be king. I can't-_

"Ladies and gentleman," a man named Philza stood in the doorway of the dining hall. Everybody's eyes were on him. "It is now time for the ceremony, Prince George," George looked up startled with his hands shaking in his lap. "It's time to get you ready, if you would come with me please."

George was preparing for this moment, weeks prior. He knew he would go upstairs, get adjusted in his cape, and fancier clothes. Then he would go to the ballroom, have _the_ crown placed upon his head, and say an oath. He knew it all too well. But he couldn't do it, he didn't want to do it. He looked through the kitchen, to the back door. It was open, he could see a cherry tree, and birds.

_I could make a run for it, I could run away and never come back._

George pushed his chair back and stood up facing everyone in the hall. He took a step away from the table and took a deep breath. His eyes were glued to the kitchen door, yet his slender feet carried him to Philza.

 _What am I doing..._

The doors of the dining hall shut behind him. His feet continued to carry him, up the stairs and into the fitting room. George's face showed no expression. The fitting room was a small room with a large closet filled with large, fancy clothing and dozens of shiny shoes. A sink was in the corner of the room with counters surrounding it. There were different utilities on the counters like hair brushes, makeup, cuffs, shoulder pads, and other things.

George's breath began to speed up. He had to get out of this. Philza and his stylist, Alyssa, tried different styles on George before fixing his hair and adding a bit of makeup. His puffy hair fell slightly above his eyebrows. The makeup didn't do much, it just helped his face shine better in the lighting. George looked beautiful.

"Are you excited, Prince George?" Alyssa asked as she added a few more touches to George's curls.

George swallowed and replied, "Sure, I suppose."

"You suppose?" Alyssa counterd.

"I- I'm not sure if, this- if I'm right for this..." George took in a big breath as Alyssa powdered George's face. "After my father... passed, I've been wanting to avoid this day, a-avoid the crown?" he stuttered as if it were a question.

"I bet you'll be a great king!" Philza added, "Possibly better than your old father, best king Iridestia has ever seen." That struck George's heart. He knew it wasn't an insult, but knowing other people were thinking about his father today, shows George shouldn't be doing this, taking the crown. Suddenly he couldn't breath, hands began to shake again thinking about his _fathers crown_ being placed on his head. 

_It's not supposed to happen like this. I need to get out of here, I need to- I- I need to get away._ George's thoughts overcame him as he leaped away from Alyssa.

Alyssa reached out for him, "George? Are you alri-" George pushed her arm away and ran out of the room. He saw the large stairs, slipped his shoes and socks off, and quickly rushed down the cold steps. 

Philza and Alyssa ran to the top of the stairs, and Philza attempted to catch up to George. "George, what in Iridestia's name are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

George ignored him and continued to run. He ran down a hall into a room with a glass ceiling, the greenhouse. There was a door to the outside from the greenhouse. George didn't know where he wanted to go, he just knew he wanted to get out of the castle. He slipped his heavy clothes off leaving himself in a thin buttoned up shirt and loose, thin pants. His clothes were a soft white color, with a couple unnoticeable holes. He ran out of the greenhouse onto the field outside of the castle. He wasn't thinking straight. He kept running across the field, his eyes glaring at an ally-way in the town ahead, through the trees.

 _What am I doing?_ _Why did I leave? What am I going to do out here?_

George looked behind him. No one was following him, he focused on the castle as people began to pour out of it. The field eventually emerged into the forest. It smelled like raindrops, dew, and dirt. George could feel the grass, leaves, and sticks slightly poke the bottom of his feet each step he took. He took another glance behind him.

_Shit, they're gonna find m-_

George hit something hard and fell backwards hitting his back and head on concrete.

"What the hell?" he muttered silently.

He focused his eyes on something above him. A man with dark blonde hair was staring at George. The man was carrying a basket in one hand and pushing his messy hair back with the other. He looked around the age of 19.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you running, are you alright?" the man spit out quickly, stretching his hand out for George to grab. George was hesitant, but he took his hand hoisting himself up.

"I-I'm fine, thank you," George replied. George had to look up at the man. He was significantly taller than George with wide eyes, and large hands. The man had a shirt similar to George's, with a neat v-neck, and leather tie. He had patched up jeans and large brown boots, his feet were much bigger then George's.

"Clay," the man quickly blurted out. "Uh-, my name I mean. T-that's my name." Clay looked a bit embarrassed.

George grinned "Nice to meet you Clay, I'm George." Clay took a step back, eyeing George up and down, he stared at George's feet, then face, then clothes, hands, and hair. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"What is it?" George questioned, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh," Clay snapped out of a small trance, "Sorry but, George, t-the... prince?"

_Shit. Why did I even tell him my name? Well if I told him I was the prince, it wouldn't be a big deal right? Surely he would help me, right?_

"Um... I-" George started, "No, no, just George."

"I was gonna say," Clay started, "you sure don't look quite like a prince, where are your shoes?" George looked down at his bare feet, they were a bit muddy from the morning grass.

"I- um, they fell off, I guess?" George responded hesitantly, still staring at his feet.

Clay grinned almost letting out a small laugh, "What were you doing out in the forest exactly?" 

George looked at the forest blankly. "I was- I was, running away from, home."

"Would you like to, borrow a pair? Of shoes I mean..." George looked up to meet Clay's eyes. "They may be a tad big on you but..." he trailed off.

George looked at the castle again through the trees, guards were swarmed all over the grounds. There were a few walking towards the town in groups.

_I can't let them find me. They can't take me back there._

He turned back to Clay, "Yes, please. If that's alright." 

He smiled slightly and grabbed George's arm, "Follow me." 

George followed Clay out of the ally-way, and onto a dirt road. Many people were awake, walking to work, taking care of family, and children were playing with toys. George never got to see the town much, and the town never saw much of him either. The royal family rarely went to town. George always had things he needed brought to him, it was nice to see the families of his kingdom.

Following Clay, George asked, "Where exactly are we going?" Clay looked back at George releasing his arm.

"We're going to the library, it's not far, maybe a block or two more up the road." he responded pushing his hair back again, letting the sun meet his eyes.

_A library... Why a library... Did he not ask if I needed to borrow shoes? Why would we go to a library for shoes?_

They continued to walk along the side of the road. George loved looking at the people, he loved seeing more people live normally. He loved seeing kids laugh, and play with their parents. It was a feeling George longed for. There were shops and stores lined up along the path, with an occasional water well, or field of grass for children to play in.

"Here it is," Clay declared, opening a door to one of the buildings along the road. It was a pretty large, two-story building, with nice windows and beautiful architecture. "Well, are you coming in or are you gonna wait out here and play with the children?" Clay grinned.

George realized Clay had already been inside holding the door open for George. The door had a bell at the top which rang whenever the door opened and closed. He stepped inside and looked around, it was beautiful. Books filled the dark, wood shelves. There were tables with novels laid out on them, and spiral stairs. It reminds him of the library back at his castle. He hasn't gone to his library since his father passed, it was his father's favorite place. They use to read new novels together and search the library for new books.

"It's very, very beautiful, do you read a lot?" George ponders turning to Clay. Clay placed the basket he was carrying on the counter.

"Sometimes..." he responded, grabbing George's arm again. "Come over here, I'll get a pair of boots for you to borrow."

Together, they walked through a door behind the counter. On the other side of the door, there was a couch and a fireplace. The ceiling was low, the room looked comfy.

"Is this where you live?" George questioned.

Clay turned back to George and responded, "Yeah, this is my house, uh, it's a bit small. I live alone though, so it doesn't matter much to me."

Clay walked across the living room to another set of stairs. It was very homey, it had a nice rug and blankets and pillows laid along the couch. It smelled like grass after it rained and trees. It made George feel like he was home although his 'home' is nothing like this. He didn't consider the castle his home, he never considered anywhere his _real_ home.

"Here, these may fit." Clay murmured as he came trudging back down the stairs with a pair of boots. The stairs were made of furnished wood, it was nice.

George grabbed the pair of boots from Clay's hands, "Thank you, so much." Clay nodded slightly as if he were saying, 'no problem'.

George sat on the comfy couch, and began to put on the boots, they were a bit big on his feet like Clay said they would probably be. He pulled the laces tighter as he heard a a bell from the other room. Clay stiffened his shoulders and told George to stay here. George watched Clay walk to the other room as he finished tying his laces. He could hear muffled chatter amongst the people outside. Hesitantly, George slightly opened the door to the library room and peaked through. Two men, in royal knights uniforms. Gold and red patterned clothing, with armor.

_Shit... SHIT... How are they here? Are they that fast? Clay is gonna rat me out. No, no he wouldn't do that... he just helped me. Right?_

George placed his ear against the door silently, he tried to listen to the conversation.

"...no one else here?" he heard a knight say. "...only me..." he heard a muffled response from Clay _._

There was a little bit of laughter, before the bell went off again. Clay opened the door George had his ear pressed on resulting in him falling on the floor.

_Ow..._

"What the hell are you actually doing here?" Clay stammered, George looked at him blankly starting to stand back up. " _Prince_ George?" he finished.

_Crap._


	2. pastries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //not really spoilers but kinda
> 
> George explains himself to Clay and they figure out how their dynamic is gonna work.  
> Clay nearly reveals something to George.
> 
> ALSO, new main character introduced in this chapter

"You realize there's guards covering the streets looking for you right? I could have easily given you away, but I didn't. I could get in _so_ much trouble keeping the _prince_ captive in my house _."_ Clay cautioned.

"You're not keeping me captive, I came here willingly." George countered.

Clay sighed and walked over to the coach. "I'd still get in trouble for trying to hide you. You could have at least told me you were the prince. What are you doing here? Seriously, cause I'm this far away from kicking you out." he threatened holding his index finger and thumb slightly apart.

_What do I say? Could I lie to him? Well possibly I could, but he would know wouldn't he..._

"Look, I couldn't handle it. I know it seems nice to live in a castle, to be a prince. It seems like, like a dream right? To have everything practically handed to you, but..." George trailed off.

"Why? I would trade places with you any day, and not have to work for what I have." Clay murmured. George sat on the couch next to Dream.

"That's the whole point, I don't want to be crowned king. I'd give my whole kingdom away to actually take care of myself. To _not_ have things handed to me. I was supposed to be crowned today, but I don’t want to. So I ran, I don’t know why but I did. I can’t go back, I don’t want to."

"What do you expect me to do then? There’s no chance you could stay here, I only have one room, and this is simply ridiculous." 

_What can I do? If he kicks me out right now I'll be found won't I? I can convince him to let me stay here. Surely, he could try to understand._

George stood up, "Listen, I know you may not understand, but I can't go back to the castle. I have nowhere else to go, so please let me stay. I- I'll sleep on the coach, and I could, I could... work for you, or something... Just please, please, _please,_ consider it." Clay met Georges pleading eyes and opened his mouth as if he were to say something.

The door-bell rang again from the other room.

"One moment..." Clay sighed as he stood up and walked to the door. As soon as Clay opened the door and saw the person in the other room, his face lit up.

"Sapnap! How are you doing?" George barely heard Clay murmur before the door fully shut.

_Sapnap. Maybe a friend of his? That's an odd name._

There was a little bit muffled talking before Clay came back into the living room. "George, y-you can stay here. _If_ you can help me with work, clean up around here, and cook. Can you cook?"

_No, I'm a prince, with my own personal chefs, do you think I can cook?_

"Yes, yes of course." George replied, hesitantly fiddling with his thumbs. 

"Great, you owe me." Clay quickly said before shutting the door again. There was a tad more muffled talking on the other side of the door. George looked around the small house. Next to the living room was the kitchen. It had a fire-oven, a sink, some pots, and a few counters. It was nicer than George expected for a simple commoner's kitchen. The rooms were lit by lanterns hanging from the ceiling. George looked above the fireplace in the living room, there was a large window with curtains covering it. George sat up from the coach reaching for the window curtains. He slowly pushed them to the side to reveal two guards standing outside the window. George closed the curtains much quicker than he opened them in a small panic. The door squeaked open.

"George," he quickly turned around to see Clay, and another man, _Sapnap_ , next to him, "This is, Nick, he's a good friend of mine." 

_Nick? He called him Sapnap, right? Maybe I'm going crazy, but I swear that's what he called him._

"Nick," Clay continued, "this is George." Nick wasn't as tall as Clay, but he was taller than George. He had long hair tied up with a piece of cloth. He was much bigger than George. He had brown-ish eyes and a nice smile. His shirt was similar to Clay's, but Nick's was a brown color, with short sleeves. 

Nick laughed slightly, "So _this_ is the prince huh?" George gave Clay a small look.

_Clay told him? Why would he tell him... Clay must trust Nick... He better be trustworthy._

"I imagined the prince would look more like- well like a prince." Nick chuckled a bit more. Clay rolled his eyes and George noticed Clay had the basket he left on the library counter before in hand.

"What's in the basket?" George inquired, motioning to Clay's hand. 

Clay walked to the kitchen and placed the basket on the counter, "Well, this _was_ _my_ breakfast but there seems to be enough for everyone. So..." He pulled out a small tray filled with pastries, toast, and bread.

"No way, is that from Niki's bakery?" Nick queried, picking up a pastry.

Clay nodded, "Yup, I went down this morning before the rush." 

"George," Nick took a bite from his pastry, "You _need_ to try these, they are delicious, Niki is the best baker in all of Iridestia!"

George picked up one of the pastries. They were shaped like hearts with powdered sugar on them. They were thick and fluffy, they looked amazing. George took a bite out of the treat he was holding and he immediately thought of a memory he had pushed to the back of his mind.

"George! Put that stick down, come here."

George came running from the grass to a cherry tree in the front of the castle. The sun was shining in the middle of the sky with clouds that looked like you could sleep on. There were birds singing together and flying around.

"Mom!" young George giggled. His mother stepped out of the small carriage with a white basket. 

"I got some stuff from the town today!" His mother pulled out a toy train and a stuffed bear. George got a hold of the train. He placed it on the concrete and rolled it around. He made train noises as he directed it around. His mother laughed at messed with Georges hair. He could have sworn he heard the train make a 'choo choo' noise. He sat back in astonishment while his mother smiled. She continued to pull out a metal tin with an engraving on the top.

"What's in there?" George asked his mother while grabbing the stuffed bear.

His mom opened the tin to reveal a tin full of cookies and pastries. "Try one, they're amazing!" His mom held out a pastry.

George took the pastry and bit into it, laughing. 

* * *

"George?" a voice mumbled. George snapped back into reality.

"Hm, what?" he looked at Clay and Nick.

Nick laughed, "Do you like it?"

George looked at the pastry in hand, it tasted delicious.

"Oh, yes, they're- they're amazing." he replied, smiling. 

“You _need_ to meet Niki someday, she’s great.” Clay grinned picking up a piece of toast.

"Well," Nick cleared his throat and sent a look to Clay.

Clay repositioned his back, "Oh, um, George is it possible for you to go to the other room for a minute? Nick and I need to talk. Privately." Clay added.

_What would they need to talk about? Talk about me? What are they hiding? I shouldn’t care so much..._

_"_ Uh- yea sure..." George smiled and opened the door to the library. 

He walked around to the different bookshelves, looking at the different novels and books there were. Every couple of shelves he saw a book he recognized, some of the books, he had finished reading, and others, he hadn’t. He made his way over to the large spiral stairs. They were made of metal and had a pretty design on the railing. There was a bit of dust, but the stairs looked nice.

_Fancy._

George made his way up the stairs to the second floor. The roof was slanted on both sides with a peak in the middle. There were more bookshelves, but they were covered in dust and there were very few books. George focused on the piano at the end of the room. A window with a beautiful pattern lit up the room from behind the piano. George heard the door-bell ring again. He looked out the window and saw Nick walking out on the street, and to the right until he disappeared from view. George turned around to see Clay at the top of the stairs. He now had a sweater vest on with his shirt collar slightly popping through the neckline. George noticed that it _was_ a bit cold inside the library.

"Do you play?" George questioned.

"What?" Clay replied stepping closer.

"The piano," George uttered, motioning to the instrument, "do you play?" 

"Oh, yea," Clay smiled, "sometimes..." George turned to look at the piano, then back at Clay who was looking at the ground. There was a small silence.

"Play for me."

Clay looked up, "What?"

"Can you not hear?" George chuckled, “Play for me."

Clay bit his lip, a small smile appeared, and he replied, "Sure, _your highness_ ," Clay said in a teasing sort of tone, "but I'm a bit rusty, so don't judge."

George stepped to the side as Clay took a seat at the piano. His fingers hovered above the keys as he cleared his throat. He began to play a small melody. George leaned against the piano and listened as Clay hit the keys to create a pretty tune. He continued playing, and changed to another section of the song. George whipped his head around, looking at Clay's hands as they hit the keys. They looked powerful and controlled. His hair fell down in front of his eyes as he played. George recognized this tune, his favorite lullaby. 

_How did Clay know this song? Only my mother sang this to me as a child. I never heard anyone else play the tune before._

George didn’t like to look back at memories with his mother, but he smiled widely at this moment reminiscing the time they spent together _._ They would pick flowers, ride horses, have picnics, and pretend to be warriors fighting a dragon. George remembered how his mother somehow used to grow apples on the apple tree with the flick of her hand and they would eat them after playing all day. At least he imagined her growing the apples that way. And he remembered how she would sing to him at night, her voice was beautiful and would always put George to sleep. Another memory came to his mind, this one wasn’t as pleasant. He pictured when his father told him his mother was missing one morning. George's smile faded as quickly as it came, Clay noticed.

"What is it?" Clay implored resting his hands on the keys.

George met Clay's eyes, "Oh, nothing just," he paused, "how d- how do you know that song?"

Clay thought about George's question, "Well, I'm not quite sure, I learned it when I was young." Clay raised an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

George hesitated but replied, "My mother, she used to sing it to me when I was young."

Clay's mouth slightly dropped open. 

"What?" George pondered as Clay stood up.

Clay looked as if he were considering something, pacing around the room a bit, "It's nothing just..." He cleared his throat, "what was your mothers name, her maiden name? If you don't mind me asking."

Clay stopped pacing and looked at George with a stern face. "Her name was Estrilda, Estrilda Taika was her maiden name."

Clay stared at George and let out a breathy laugh.

"Is there about her name? I don't understand." George had a slightly confused look on his face.

"No, no, it's nothing. Really it's nothing."

The door-bell rang again.

Clay looked at George, "One moment." He trudged back down the stairs.

_What was that? Why did he need to know my mother's name? How did he learn this song? I don’t understand._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIII  
> if anyones wondering the lullaby that Clay played in this chapter is Isabella’s Lullaby from The Promised Neverland.  
> heres a link if you want to listen: https://youtu.be/zuimQ_Ufqtc
> 
> again, no one will probably see this but, thank you for reading! leave a comment if you like it so far or sum! :)


	3. Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //not really spoilers but kinda
> 
> More character's are introduced in this chapter.
> 
> Clay and George begin to bond more, and George makes his first, real friend.
> 
> (a lot of dialogue)

"Wilbur! How are you doing?" George hears Clay exclaim from downstairs. George began to strut down the stairs slowly, he wasn't sure if Clay would be fine if George came down or not. He heard another man laugh.

_Wilbur? He must have a lot of friends. Is that what life is like in the village? Does everyone have friends?_

George didn't think of anyone when he heard the word friend. He never had a real _friend._ Someone he could talk to about all his problems, someone who cared about him, and trusted him. George didn't realize how far down the stairs he went, because when he finally focused Wilbur and Clay were staring at him.

"Who's this?" Wilbur asked, fixing his glasses.

Clay turned to Wilbur, "It's quite a long story actually, for another time." Wilbur was surprisingly taller than Clay, not by much. He had very curly hair, his bangs hung a tad below his round glasses. His face was nice to look at and he had a kind presence. He had a long, yellow sweater on with a collared shirt underneath. His shoes were very nice, not boots or leather shoes, they were fancy black ones. He looked no older than 20.

"Well, I'm Wilbur, at least tell me your name." Wilbur adjured, placing a book on the counter.

George looked at Clay for some form of approval, then responded, "George."

"Pleasure to meet you George." Wilbur grinned and reached his hand out for George to shake. Of course, George took it for a brief shake. 

Clay turned to Wilbur, "Well, _William_ ,” he mocked with a fake English accent, “what kind of book are you looking for today?"

Wilbur turned around so he was leaning over the counter and his hands were on the wooden counter-top.

"Today," he started, "I'm feeling like reading a romance, but there's got to be some action in there." Wilbur had a bit of an accent similar to George's.

Clay knew George had been looking at some of the books earlier. "George," Clay started as George looked up, "would you like to help my pal Wilbur here find a good book?"

George smiled a bit forcibly, "Sure, I know an excellent choice, I've read it twice before." George told Wilbur as he walked to the bookshelves. George scanned through the different books before finding the book he mentioned, and grabbed it from the shelf. He handed it to Wilbur.

"'The Green, Blue, and Red'" Wilbur read the title. "What's it about?" Wilbur asked George while flipping through the thick pages.

"It's about 3 different people, 2 of them are in love with a girl, and she needs to decide which of them she loves more." George blabbered. Wilbur nodded in approval.

"She shouldn't choose either of them." Clay blurted out from behind the counter.

George looked at Clay with a stern face, "And why is that, _Clay_?"

Clay snickered, "What if she doesn't love either of them? What if she only has to choose between one of them, because they are making her? She should find someone else, who truly cares about her."

"What if she really, truly loved them though?" George proposed.

Clay thought for a second, "Surely she would love one of them more than the other."

"Maybe she loves them both equally? Then what would happen?"

"Then she chooses neither of them and moves on." Clay advised.

"Since when did you become an author?" George countered. "Have you even read the book?"

"No..." Clay grumbled under his breath. 

Wilbur laughed slightly and interjected, "Well, _I'll_ read the book, and when I come back to return it, we can revisit this conversation and see which one of you I agree with."

"Sounds like a plan." Clay snickered.

Wilbur nodded, "Anyways, I must be going, it was nice to meet you George, bye Clay!" George and Clay both waved as Wilbur walked out the door. Before Wilbur made his way out, Clay grabbed Wilbur and told him a few things quietly.

_Talking again in private. Perhaps Clay doesn't trust me. It would make sense, I met him just earlier today after all._

Clay waved as he sent Wilbur off, and the door made the bell ring before fully shutting.

"If I were the girl in the book, I would have them fight over me, to the death." Clay laughed.

"To the death?" George questioned chuckling. "How would that have a good outcome?"

Clay hunched over a bit on the counter, "If it were a fight to the death, one of them would be dead, which means there would only one man that I love alive, and I wouldn't have to choose."

George laughed, "You're ridiculous..." 

"I know." Clay confirmed. He grabbed something from underneath the counter. He then walked over and opened the library door. He had a large tan bag in his hand. 

"Where are you going?" George speculated, stepping towards the door.

" _We_ are going to get you some clothes. If you _are_ going to stay with me, at my house I mean, you need clothes."

"Won't I be recognized?"

"I doubt it, the guards already came through this part of town, I don’t think they would come back for at least a couple more days. At least not around here. And I’m 99% sure none of the villagers know what you really look like anyways.”

George nodded and followed Clay out the door.

The walk from the library to the tailor wasn't very long, and it was a sunny day with a cool breeze. George enjoyed the walk, mostly because of Clay. They talked about a lot and shared a few laughs. It was nice. George couldn't remember the last time he laughed this much in one day. Clay was so interested in George's life, so George shared a lot about what it was like being a prince, and how it wasn't as nice as it seemed. 

He explained that he had schedules, and how he could only play for a certain amount of time per day as a child. He explained how his schedule got tighter as he got older, and how he has nearly no free time anymore. George talked about nearly everything he goes through each day, but he left out anything to do with his family. He didn't like to talk about that, but he did enjoy talking about the workers in the castle and funny stories about them. 

George shared so much about himself, he barely heard anything from Clay. All he found out was that Clay was raised on a small farm on the edge of the village, and how he always dreamed of having a library. He didn't explain how he got the library he has now or anything, but George wondered.

"Here it is." Clay said, grabbing the gold handle of a tall, slim door to a building. The building was large and tall, made up of browns, silvers, tans, and golds. It was quite pretty. George followed Clay in, there were tons of racks full of shirts, pants, and dresses. 

"This is where I get all my clothing," Clay explains motioning to the racks of clothes. "Usually, when I come here, two boys are usually running arou-"

"Out of my WAY Clay!" a boy screamed running in between George and Clay nearly hitting them with his wooden sword. He had large, brown hair with a strong, english/british accent. Another boy popped up out of a rack of clothes with a sword in hand. This boy had very bright blond hair with blue eyes. He also had a distinct, english/british accent. The blond boy held up his sword striking it against the brown haired boy's sword. Both boys looked to be around 14-15 years old. 

The blond one looked straight at George and blurted out, "Who's this?"

The brown haired one looked back at George as well. 

Clay laughed a bit, "This is, George. He's a friend of mine."

_Friend. Did he mean that? Even if he did it's not a big deal right? Yea, we're friends. I have a friend. Cool._

George smiled, cheeks beginning to flush. George knew it wasn't anything special, but he's never had someone call him his friend before.

"George, this is Tommy," Clay began, pointing at the blond haired boy, "and this is Toby." he finished pointing at the other child.

"This is my bitch-boy!" bragged nudging Toby with his wooden sword. Toby didn't seem to mind, as if it were normal.

"Language Tommy!" George heard a voice come from another room. A man came out from a doorway behind a counter. The counter had fabric, scissors, measuring tape, and other things on it. 

"I've said this for the 100th time today Tommy, stop cursing, it's not necessary!" The man was wearing an apron over his black shirt. He had brown, messy hair, and he had glasses on.

Tommy groaned and walked behind the counter with Toby.

"Clay! How have you been? Who's your friend?" the man questioned.

"I've been great! This is my pal, George, and I brought him here to see if we can get him some clothes." Clay responded quickly.

"Hello George, I'm Darryl Bad, but please, just call me Bad. I can just take a few of your measurements, and see what clothes I have that could fit you." Bad smiled widely.

"Of course, thank you!" George replied grinning. Bad took a few of his measurements while Tommy was blurting random things out like how he scared all the girls in his class on time, and how he scared away five customers at the same time, and how he somehow set 4 shirts on fire. Toby occasionally added a few details to the stories Tommy was telling. Bad went to the back of the shop behind the counter for a bit, and returned with about 5 shirts and 4 sets of pants. On top of that, he brought out 6 pairs of socks.

"How much for this all?" Clay asked Bad.

"Well, since George _seems_ like he has no clothes, I'll lower the price, but _only_ because you're my friends."

_There it is again. 'Friend'._

"I'll make a deal for, let’s say, 15 shillings." Bad declared.

"Deal." Clay agreed, reaching in the bag he had. He pulled out 15 shillings and placed them on the counter.

"Thank you, Bad." George trilled.

Bad beamed, "No problem! Have a good day!" 

"Bye!" Tommy and Toby yelled in unison. Clay grabbed the clothes and stuffed them in his large bag. They exited the shop together. The sun wasn't setting, but it was much lower than the center of the sky. It was definitely past noon.

"You know,” George looked down, “I- I've never had, like, a _real_ friend before." George stuttered sheepishly.

Clay wheezed a bit, "Does that make me your first then? I'm your friend aren't I? I let you have my pastries, I bought you clothes, and I'm literally letting you stay at my house."

"Of course." George laughed.

 _So, I do have a friend. Clay is my friend, he’s_ **_actually_ ** _my friend._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again!
> 
> there was a LOT of dialogue in this chapter, but we finally got to meet Wilbur, Bad, Tommy, and Tubbo/Toby so YAY
> 
> they are all going to fit into the story later too, the next chapter is going to be longer and reveal a bit more to the story so stay tuned! 
> 
> again, i doubt anyone is reading this, but if you are, comment if you liked it, or any suggestions you would have! much love <3 :)


	4. Laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //kinda spoilers but not really
> 
> they finally meet niki, and have fun
> 
> it's here to show how george and clay grow closer (filler chapter??)

Clay and George approached the library, Clay continued walking past the door.

"Clay?" George grabbed Clay's arm.

"Oh," Clay began, "I actually wanted to make one more stop, it's a bit further down the road, but I promise it will be worth it." Clay slowly pulled his arm away from George's touch with a smile.

"Alright," George began moving down the path again, "This better not be a joke or something."

Clay laughed, "You'll like it I promise."

"Well what is it?" 

"It's a  _ surprise _ ..."

George and Clay talked more while they walked, this time, George asking most of the questions. He was cautious to not ask anything personal, Clay seemed like he type to not open up about things like that. Clay explained what everyday life is like for him, and how often he sees his friends. He explained what it's like to live alone, and work hard for yourself. George and Clay compared their lives. They really were different, they had different lifestyles, different houses, clothing, and features. 

George caught a glimpse of a sign on the side of a small, light pink cottage. 

"Niki's bakery?" George questioned, "The Niki you spoke of earlier?"

"Yea, this is actually where we were headed!" Clay pulled open the door with a heart-shaped window with striped curtains. As soon as George stepped in the bakery, his nose filled with the smell of treats.

"We're closed, sorry!" Niki looked up from the display of cupcakes she was adjusting, "Oh, Clay! It's nice to see you again!" Niki came out from behind the display counter and gave Clay a hug. She was much shorter than Clay, around the same height as George. Her bangs nearly covered her beautiful, light blue eyes. She had bright blond hair and she had a pink and white apron on over a pink dress with strawberries on it. Her shoes were covering her long lace socks, the shoes similar to a Mary Jane type of shoe.

"Oh, is this George?" Niki asked, stepping a bit closer to him.

"Hi," George responded, "How did you know my name?" he grinned.

"Wilbur told me, he came by earlier after visiting the library!" Niki giggled, "That reminds me..." She stepped behind the display of goodies and took out a small cake. On top of it, in 'yellow' frosting, it spelled out, "Happy Birthday George!" She placed it on top of the counter on top of the display of her creations.

Niki laughed, "I didn't know your favorite color, George, so I just put Clay's favorite instead."

"Yellow? That's a plain color." George teased.

Clay scoffed, "Yellow? Does that  _ look  _ yellow to you George?"

George reached up to scratch the back of his neck, "Yes actually, I- I'm colorblind. Is it not yellow?"

Clay wheezed, and Niki began to laugh. The sound of their laughter put a small smile on George's face. 

"You're  _ actually _ colorblind?" Clay pondered, sobering up, "Are there any colors you can actually see?"

"Well, I can see a little red, black, yellow, and a lot of brown. But my favorite color is blue, the only distinct color to me."

Clay laughed even more, "What color are my eyes than George?"

George rolled his eyes. "Well... they look yellow."

"They're  _ green _ George!" Clay managed to spit out still chuckling.

"Blue is one of my favorite colors too, George," Niki chimed in, "pink is my absolute favorite color though."

"Really? I would've never guessed." George chattered, sarcastically.

"Well George, aren't you going to try your cake? I called in this favor  _ just _ for you." Clay handed him a fork from a glass jar full of utensils. George took a small piece off on the cake with the fork he was handed. It looked, and smelled amazing. George took a bite, the cake had nice whipped frosting with a vanilla base. It was one of the best cakes he had ever tasted.

"Niki, this honestly is amazing, I'm serious."

She gushed, "Thank you so much!"

Clay took the fork from George's hand, their fingers brushed across each other for a quick moment, "Well now,  _ I need  _ to try the 'amazing' cake." He mimicked George's accent, which made George roll his eyes smiling. 

"Wow Niki," Clay's mouth was still stuffed with cake, "This really is great..." 

"Niki," George started, "would you like some?"

Niki looked a bit startled at the question.

_ Was that weird to ask? Maybe she isn't used to the question. No matter, she deserves some, she made it after all. _

"S-sure!" Niki turned around smiling and grabbed 2 other forks from the glass jar. She handed one to George, since Clay took his, and the other she used for herself.

That evening, they laughed, talked, and ate more than just the cake. They ended up eating other treats and a lot of Niki's pastries, they were delicious after all. The sun was nearly set, which caused the town to have a nice, golden haze seep through the ally-ways between buildings. It created shadows of kids getting called in for supper, and other pedestrians closing up their shops. George felt at home. This wasn't his home, and he's only been here for about a day, but he felt more comforted than he has in years. His mother gave him comfort, his father didn't.

After his mother went missing, it seemed like his father simply didn't care. It made no sense to George, why his father didn't care about someone he loved. George was 14 when he lost his main source of happiness. He wonders what life would be like if his mother was still here. 

_ Would I still be getting crowned king? Would my father still be dead? Would the war even happen if she was here? _

These things he would think regularly for the past couple weeks, nearly everyday. But here, right now, George felt safe. He had friends, and a place to stay. It was nice.

"George?" Clay murmured. 

"Mhm?" George responded with a hum.

"It's gonna get dark soon, I think we should head home." Clay told him, "Thank you so much Niki, this was fun, and I can refund you on anything we ate..."

Niki rose her hand up to get clay to stop talking, "No, no, no, it's fine! You don't need to pay anything, you guys are my friends."

_ There it is again, "friend". _

"Plus," Niki lowered her voice directing her speech at Clay, "I owe you, this is how I can repay." Clay cleared his throat and motioned at George to leave.

"Bye Niki, thank you for everything." George thanked, opening the door to leave. Clay waved, before exiting the cafe. They both walked on the road for a bit, the sun was nowhere in sight, although it wasn't very dark yet. There was a silence, but a somewhat peaceful silence. There were lamps down the road and near different stores, they emitted a calming, orange light. No one was out and about, although there were many houses George and Clay walked by that sounded of laughter, just like a happy family. This made not only George, but Clay smile as well. 

George hesitated, then broke the silence, "What did Niki owe you?"

Clay looked over at George a bit startled, "What?"

"Niki told you she owed you something, what is it that she owed you?" George insisted.

"Well, she, uh- well, she didn't," Clay was stuttering an awful lot, "I took care of, her, her um, her cat! Yeah!"

"I didn't see a cat at the library." George countered. 

"No, that's because it wanders around in the afternoon, but I swear, I actually do have her cat."

George scoffed, "Well you shouldn't let a cat just wander around like that."

"Oh yea? And you would know?" Clay nudged George's arm.

"My mother had a cat, so I'm practically a master at taking care of cats."

"As if, Niki's cat  _ loves  _ me."

"What's his name?" George was kicking at the dirt as they walked, "I mean her, I mean  _ it's _ name."

George tripping over his words caused Clay to laugh, " _ It? _ So, the cat is just an object to you?"

George laughed, "Whatever, what's  _ the cat's  _ name?"

"Patches," Clay smiled, "I named  _ her _ after it tore a hole in my pants, and I had to patch it up."

George's eyebrow rose, "I thought Patches was Niki's cat?"

Clay cleared his throat, "Oh, um yea it is, I just happened to find it, then it became Niki's cat."

"Sure." George knew he was lying, but he simply didn't care, he felt as if he didn't need to know what Clay was hiding, he was happy. 

They walked a bit more talking about dumb things like the different people Clay has met, some of Clay's customers, and George's old cat. 

"Here," Clay stopped and reached for the library door. George could barely see it was nearly pitch black outside, and inside. Clay took George's hand, and led him to the door behind the counter. The living room was nice and bright, the fire in the fireplace was nearly about to die out, but the hanging lanterns lit up the room. They stepped inside, it was very peaceful, the fire made some nice crackling noises as it burned out. A cat,  _ Patches _ , came through the door before it shut and wrapped around Clay's ankles. George looked down and noticed Clay was still holding his hand. George stared at their hands for a brief moment.

_ His hand is big. It nearly covers mine. _

Less than a second later, George pulled his hand away quickly to scratch the back of his neck. Clay noticed, he cleared his throat and picked up Patches.

"This is Patches," Clay smiled as he slowly ran his hand down Patches' back. George slowly reached his hand out, he rubbed Patches' head and she purred. 

George laughed, "She's adorable." Clay set Patches' down, and she trudged up the stairs. 

"It's late, I should head to bed." Clay took a step towards the stairs. George nodded. "There a blanket hanging on the side of the coach, are you sure you're fine with sleeping there? Y'know I could sleep on the coach, and you can take my bed! Or- Or I co-"

"Clay," George interrupted, "I'm fine, I'm a prince, not a baby."

Clay looked down at his fiddling fingers, "Ok, are you sure you aren't cold?"

"Well, it's a bit cold but I'm fine!" George made his way to sit on the coach. 

"Oh, alright." Clay nodded and looked back up into George's eyes. There was a small beat before Clay cleared his throat, looked away, and continued. "Alright, um, goodnight ‘ _ Prince George’. _ " he mocked.

George smiled, "Goodnight Clay." He grabbed the blanket, and laid down on the comfy couch. The fireplace whipped back to life, as if it had just started. The flames grew and gave George more heat. He jumped a little, then heard the stairs creak. He looked above the coach to see Clay was walking up the wooden stairs, it seemed as if he hadn't noticed. Although the fire was nice, he wondered how on earth it grew like that. George laid back down and his mind turned as he listened to the fire whip around. 

_ How did this happen? I'm staying with a complete stranger. Why did he let me stay in the first place? I have nothing to offer Clay, but he's offered me everything? He knew my mother's lullaby. How did he know  _ **my** _ mother's lullaby? Is it a common one? Why did he need to know my mothers name? My mother did come to town an awful lot. Although, I was never allowed to come.  _

Questions that George couldn't answer consumed his head. He slowly drifted off as he continued asking himself questions that didn't have any answers. He slept peacefully, and calmly.

"Hello?" George stood in a hallway.

_ This is the castle. Outside my fathers room.  _

He looked at his fathers double doors, they were large and white. The doors had a patterned texture, just like nearly everything else in the castle. George spotted something else. Himself. It was George as a child, he looked around the age of 14 and was hiding behind a large vase with long, pretty roses in it. George heard yelling form behind his fathers door.

"Leave!" his fathers voice shouted. He heard his mother's voice, but it was muffled. The doors swung open, and closed just as fast. George's mother had tears on her face, yet she was still beautiful. She had long curly brown hair pulled back in a braid. Her dress was an emerald green and had a black corset. It seemed as if she couldn't see George. 

Young George ran out from behind the vase and spoke, "Mom?" 

She shuddered, "Georgie, I'm ok, it's going to be ok, alright?"

He nodded and hugged his mother. 

"I love you no matter what, I want you to know that. No matter where I am, I love you." Her voice was soft, and kind, "Now get back to your room before your father sees you." Young George let go of his mother, ran down the hall, then disappeared from George's sight.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING! it would be kinda awesome if your reading this rn, and that means so much to me that you actually like my writing....  
> anyways, ily, thank you! *runs away*  
> omg i have so much homework but i'm writing this instead because i don't want to do hw...

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii!!! i doubt anyone see's this but, i wanna thank you for reading and i would appreciate if you would comment if you see any grammar/spelling mistakes! ty :)


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